DESIGN ASPECTS OF A CLIMBING HEXAPOD

Abstract

The movement capabilities of a climbing animal or robot largely depend on its attachment/detachment strategy and the workspace of its legs. Design aspects of the 18 degree-of-freedom hexapod DIGbot are presented in this work. DIGbot is named for its usage of the biologically-inspired Distributed Inward Gripping (DIG) attachment strategy to walk on mesh screen in any orientation with respect to gravity. DIG utilizes contralateral legs pulling inward toward the body to activate directional attachment mechanisms, and allows DIGbot to climb vertically. 1.